The United States and Germany are "blocking" Ukraine's request to join NATO, Bild reported on Monday citing a "high-ranking" source.
According to the source, the two countries are also "putting pressure" on other members of the alliance to join them in preventing Ukraine from submitting an official request to become a member of NATO.
Over the weekend, United States President Joe Biden stated that Ukraine is "not yet ready" to join NATO, stressing Kiev must fulfill the necessary criteria, including democratization and ending the war with Russia. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials have said they will seek "clarity" on its path to NATO membership from the alliance at the upcoming summit in Vilnius and announced allies agreed to remove the membership action plan step from its path to membership.
